A Different Path
by Fadinglight21
Summary: What if before the Ghost crew, Ezra was on a different path? One that a Jedi would never think of going on? AU that Bossk took Ezra on as his apprentice after the events of "Ezra's Gamble" two years earlier. Might be T later.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first Star Wars Rebels fanfiction. I know I'm not that good at writing, but I wanted to try out an idea. In this AU the events of "Ezra's Gamble" happened two years earlier, and bossk decided to take on Ezra as his apprentice. In the story Ezra is 14.**

 **Disclaimer: As much as I wished it was, Star Wars Rebels isn't mine, it belongs to Disney.**

"Time ta get up kid!" Bossk's harsh voice split through Ezra's groggy awakening . The boy groaned as he sat up in his bunk. Putting his hand in his head he thought back to the strange dream he had been awakened from. Ezra had been having that same dream for weeks now. Each time he had woken with a strange urge to go back to Lothal. But the dream never had anything to do with his home planet. "Hurry up kid! We gotta job ta do!" Bossk's growl came from cockpit again

As The blue haired boy got changed into brown pants, a long sleeved grey shirt, and a bantha leather belt he thought back to his dream. The man with the dark skin and stern face was there again. He always wore brown and white robes, and had dark eyes. Ezra got a feeling that he was _extremely_ powerful, whenever the dark skinned man looked in his direction he got a shiver up his spine. But the powerful man didn't seem evil, just serious.

But then there was this beautiful women. She had an aura of wisdom and kindess, Ezra felt safe near her, even in a dream. A glint of humor in her brown eyes showed as well. The women's hair was braided, and she had gems on her face. She wore brown and white, with simple robes and a tunic, similarly to the man. She too gave him a feeling that she was very powerful.

The dream always took place in a plant filled courtyard. Ezra could hear water rushing from where he was in the dream. The air was filled with the rich scent of soil and plants, a rush of nostalgia came to him everytime he thought about it. It reminded him of Lothal, there were some places in the hills that were like that. _Far_ away from Capital City's pollution and ugliness.

The man always passed something to her, it would sometimes be a silver tube-like object, or it would be something that looked like a lock of braided hair. The man would smile with the warmth of what Ezra would say a parent. He had vague memories of his father doing the same to him. The women would take his gift, turn around and kneel in front of a boy, who would appear suddenly.

The boy was about Ezra's age, he wore the same garments as the adults. His brown, messy hair had a braid hanging from it, and his wide green eyes held a thousand questions. The women would take the object and give it to him. Sometimes the boy would bow to her, but other times the boy turned to Ezra and held out his hand to him.

Ezra would reach out to take it, but the dream always ended in a flash of red, and a sense of panic racing through him. Ezra would wake up with cold sweat, his head nearly banging the top of his cabin in _The Hound's Tooth_.

The strange thing was that Ezra felt a _connection_ to these people. Even though he had never met them in his life. He felt like he belonged with them, and that they would feel the same. The familiar hum in the back of his mind would get stronger, and his instincts screamed at him to take what the boy was offering.

But when the red came it felt like he was thrown into a pool of icy water. The cold would spread through his veins. The hum in his mind suddenly got way too loud, to the point where his head would pound. Lately the red made him feel like he was going to be sick in the dream.

Expelling the thoughts of the dream from his mind, Ezra quickly pulled on his black boots and got up. He went out into the hallway, and walked over to the cockpit. His reptilian mentor was currently steering the ship toward what looked like Nar Shaddaa. No matter how many times they went to these kind of planets, they never failed to amaze him. So many lights, and buildings. Not even the thought of nature existed on them. Lothal was nothing like them!

"It's a hard job. Don't get cocky." Bossk informed Ezra as the boy picked up a ration bar.

"Oh come on Bossk!" Ezra smirked. "You know me, they'll _never_ see me coming!"

"Like that job 'n Gorse? They saw you coming _then_."

"Hey! That was when you first took me on, I'm a whole lot better now!"

Bossk did the closest thing a Tradoshian could get to a smile without looking like they're about to bite you, and spoke again. "This is important, so listen up. Other bounty hunters will be after the kill, so be careful not ta run into them!"

Bossk handed Ezra a holodisc. Turning it on, Ezra saw a holo of a older man with a snobby face, and fancy clothing. "That's our target. His son wants the company so we gotta take his dad out. He's in the Star Cluster Casino, not much security. It'll be an easy bounty, but we have ta get there first." Ezra nodded as he finished off his meal. He was ready for this.

* * *

As Bossk docked into the Nar Shadda Spaceport Ezra got on his armor and equipment. One white shin guard, white arm guards , and light and flexible upper body armor. He tugged on his headgear, an old stormtrooper cadet Helmet that had been tricked out. On his belt he had a blaster, An extra comlink, and some hacking tech. He also had his old slingshot, but he barely used it anymore.

Bossk and Ezra toke the quickest route to the casino through the shining planet and arrived at the back entrance. Ezra usually crawled through the vents and toke care of things blocking Bossk's path to the target. This time they'd be taking the servents back stairs and paths. The didn't want to announce themselves by prancing through the casino.

They had done plenty of jobs like this before, Ezra _knew_ that. But as he followed Bossk through the maze of the casino he couldn't shake off the cold feeling he had searing through his body. It felt similar to the cold he had experienced from his dreams when the red came through his mind. The humming in his head had gotten louder too.

Something was about to happen.

Something worse then just losing a bounty.

 **I hope you enjoyed it! If I did something wrong on either characterization or something on Nar Shaddaa please tell me as constructive criticism! Reviews are extremely appreciated! Should I continue on? If I do Ezra will eventully join Kanan and the ghost crew. (oh, and I give credit to Shell-Shocked-Ninja-Turtle-Gal for the idea of Ezra hearing the force as a hum, check her out btw)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am so sorry this took so long to update! To be honest I was a little stuck on what to do next, but I got it more figured out now. For me Bossk is difficult to write since I don't know much about him.**

 **Edit 5-20-17: I figured that chapter two and three work better when merged. Working on the new chapter three. sorry if I disappointed you :(**

 **Disclaimer: Star Wars Rebels isn't mine, nor am I claiming any ownership over the characters.**

The door gave a satisfying whir as Ezra successfully hacked it. Bossk and his teenage ward managed to make it quietly to the room where their target would be staying. After navigating the casino's inner workings, Ezra had sliced through security. Through hacking the security cameras they gathered that he was currently in one of the casino's private rooms.

Good, Bossk didn't want to make a scene.

"Ready shorty?" Bossk hissed after his partner fell into position behind him. The teen gave a slight nod back. He didn't feel ready, not with the gigantic pit of dread in his stomach, but he couldn't say that right now. They moved forward, stepping with ease into practiced maneuvers. Ezra felt a shiver shoot through his spine as they entered the room. He winced as the humming that usually stayed silent grew to an almost unbearable screech.

Ezra gritted his teeth as he fought the impulse to cover his ears with his hands and take a knee. He tried focusing on the room instead. For a famous casino, the room was simple. It was about the size of the _Hound's Tooth_ cargo hold. A chair, a bed, and a couple of bright paintings. _Less property damage then._ Ezra manged to get a coherent thought above the noise in his head. _Bossk will like that._

The boy jumped as the trandoshan howled several curses. Bossk tapped two claws over his leg and went over to a crumpled figure. Ezra quickly realized that as the "stand down" signal and lowered his blaster. "What's wrong boss?" He said, walking up to his mentor. He nearly gave a sigh of relief when the humming of his mind jumped down to a low rumble.

"Another hunter got to him before us!" Bossk bared his teeth with a snarl.

The teen looked down at the crumpled figure, eyes widening in shock once he realized it was the target. A blaster mark clearly scarred the man's forehead. "Karabast, I though we got here first!" Ezra huffed, crossing his arms. "Just a couple minutes ago he was walking around."

"Well shorty, sometimes you miss a bounty." Bossk's yellow reptilian eyes narrowed at the large window near the body. "Must of been a sniper, you can see the blaster hole right there." He pointed to a little, smoke stained hole in the glass.

"That's right," Ezra said, looking closer at the window and outside area. "The sniper probably left already. Not a smart move to stay after a job's done." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bossk give a slight nod. Ezra supressed a surge of pride. Bossk didn't give praise often, or very much. But when he did, no matter. how subtle, it meant the world to Ezra.

The trandoshan was fervently checking the hacked security cameras. They couldn't afford to get seen by security, especially since the job was a bust. Ezra pranced over to Bossk. He was about to ask what was the new plan but a high pitched wail stopped him. The teen gasped and clutched his arm, before the noises were irritating, but he could deal with them. Now the sound was so intense that it blocked all of his other senses out. White filled his vision and the sense of dread he experienced earlier came back.

Bossk quit checking the cameras and rushed to Ezra's side. "Shorty!" He said as he kneeled down to Ezra's level. "Now is not the time to have a seizure, what's wrong with you?"

"Bossk," He rasped, gripping his mentor's sleeve. "We gotta get out of here." Bossk's eyes widened at that. They both knew what it meant when Ezra had a sudden feeling. The hum lowered down quickly though. Bossk helped him to his feet and patted his shoulder. Ezra gave a slight nod to show he was ok.

"This has gone on long enough." A groveled voice said, followed by a slight chuckle "Bossk, you're getting sloppy" The noise in Ezra's head quieted back to a hum. The boy jumped back from the direction of the voice which appeared to be from the wall.

Bossk snarled at the apparent recognition of who the new voice was. He went over to he wall and ripped something off. Held between his claws was a device Ezra had seen before. Often sold on the black market for the use of bounty hunters and imperial spies.

"Fett. Explain, _Now."_ Bossk growled, clenching his other claws into a fist. The signal for "Scan area, get weapon ready." Ezra grabbed his blaster and readied it. He looked around the room and window, trying to look for more devices. He spotted one on the painting and destroyed it. Carefully focusing on the areas on the other buildings that could be used as a sniping position. There was no one in them, or any clue that anyone was there except for the dead body on the floor.

"There is currently an imperial strike team heading toward you, if you surrender what we want you'll walk free with a small fortune." Boba Fett replied through the speaker. Bossk nearly smashed his claws through it. The last time him and Fett had interacted, it hadn't gone well. Ezra would of prefered never to meet the Infamous Boba Fett again after that, but as usual his wishes weren't granted.

Bossk snapped, "What could you possibly want from me? I swear Fett, if this is about that bounty over on Naboo-" The strike team burst through the doors, and steadily surrounded them. The last one in the room was Fett himself, dressed in his usual dark green and red armor. Ezra raised his blaster as he took a look at Boba's, an odd but powerful new model.

"Well," Ezra said, trying to keep fear out of his voice. "This is quite the honor Mr. Fett. Mind telling us what a celebrity like you is doing with us?"

Bossk didn't say anything to Ezra's comment, he instead glared at Fett, expecting an answer.

"The boy." Fett said, jerking his blaster in Ezra's direction. "I want the boy."

Ezra couldn't breathe for a second. _Him?_ Sure, Ezra could be crass at times but what in all hells did he do to get on _Boba Fett's_ wrong side? "Fett, don't be ridiculous." Bossk said, his eyes darting across the room, looking for a way out. "There's no way you want _this_ scrawny runt of a kid. He's more trouble then he's worth." A couple years ago Ezra would have been insulted by this, but now he knew better. Bossk didn't mean most of what he said, right now he was trying to save their butts. Boba Fett didn't seem to believe it either. Fett tilted his head to the side. Ezra wondered what his expression was like underneath the mandolorian helmet.

"If he's such a burden then why don't you just hand him over?" The other bounty hunter said, taking a step forward. The 14 year old clenched his jaw and tried to find a way out of this mess. The obvious exits were all blocked by Boba Fett's imperial team, and the more obscure ones would take time to get into. A slight touch from Bossk's shoulder made him glance at the trandoshan for a split second. Ezra followed his mentor's gaze to the window, blocked by three imperials. Confusion racked his brain until he remembered that they had grappling hooks that could descend extremely fast. If the escape went too poorly Bossk could dig his claws into the building's walls, or grab a ledge.

But first they had to clear the imperials out of the way. _Maybe a distraction?_ Ezra thought, trying to think about how to make the imperials lower there guard, or take their focus down for a second. He did the first thing that came to his head: talk. "Why do you want me anyways?" He blurted out, shifting his feet to let Bossk know that he was up to something. "It's not like I'm a rebel or something. Besides, why now?"

"You never told the boy Bossk?" Fett replied, sounding almost amused. "That or never figured it out?"

"You were never one for a straight answer Fett." Bossk's groveled voice answered back. "Even when you were his age."

Fett's voice hardened, he flicked a hand upward. "Kill the Trandoshan if necessary, but nothing lethal for the boy."

Blasters put on stun lit the room blue. Ezra dodged and rolled behind a sofa, spotting Bossk crouch and hunch his shoulders behind a overturned desk. The large bounty hunter could barely fit behind it. It would have been funny if they weren't in this situation.

Ezra grasped his blaster in his hand and shot back at their attackers. Two of the team went down on the floor and the others found cover quickly enough. Boba Fett had stalked over to a corner, a hand resting on his blaster, and the other holding a formerly hidden blaster shield. A red flag went off in Ezra's head. _It's not like him to just stand there and not take the kill, is he waiting for something?_

"Kid!" His attention snapped back to Bossk. The trandoshan had his claws held up at _three_...the boy tensed, and nodded his head. This was going to be a close one.

 _Two..._ The humming in Ezra's ears had returned as faint background noise. He blinked and gave a small shake of the head. He couldn't afford to be distracted, not now.

 _One!_ Bossk threw a smoke bomb down and rushed to the window his apprentice followed suite. The agents of the empire stopped shooting for just a few seconds but it was enough. The boy couldn't see through the thick smoke anymore then they could, but Bossk had his claws on his arm to guide him. The hum in Ezra's ears grew louder and something...something seemed wrong. He narrowed his eyes at the smoke for a split second and nearly screamed. Boba Fett's mask must of had something that could target them in the smoke because he was much closer then before. He pointed his blaster at Bossk as the trandoshan did the same to him.

It was almost as if the world had gone into slow motion for Ezra. He felt, rather then heard or saw Fett press his finger on the trigger. In the split second before the plasma exited the blaster the boy felt a surge of power in his gut. Ezra held out a hand ready to push Bossk away, but he knew he was too late. The humming in his ears rose and so did the power in his chest. Bossk was thrown to the side and the plasma shattered the window.

The apprentice gaped as his hands, the world moving too fast for his mind to handle. _What, how, why, I just how did I, Bossk isn't dead but what did I-_ "Well it took you long enough kid." Fett said smugly, breaking his rapid train of thought. Ezra's eyes widened but before he could think of a response a weight hurtled into him and out the window. Glass rained around him as Bossk dug his claws into the formerly smooth skyscraper. One arm around the boy Bossk managed to jump to a rooftop. The trandoshan didn't look at his apprentice the whole time.

Grabbing the boy's arm he led them through the multitude of crowds and shops and neon distractions to the spaceport. Ezra looked back for a second and thought he saw Fett in the sky with flames underneath him but Bossk pulled him into the port before he could get a better look. The pair rushed to their docked ship, not bothering to even sit down before starting the launch. As the ship entered space and went into light speed, the apprentice realized that nothing would ever be the same after this.

* * *

"What...what did I do?" Ezra said looked at his hands. His attempt to keep the tremble out of his voice failed. "What am I? Why does the em-"

"Hold your breath kid." Bossk said. Ezra glanced at him but the trandoshan didn't meet his eyes. Bossk leaned back against his seat, staring straight out the window. "I don't know the answer to all of your questions but I will say this." The boy stared expectantly at Bossk, his stomach twisted into a knot.

"You have something only dead men have."

 **Thank you for reading! Please add constructive criticism if you see something you think I need to work on, and reviews are great. Haters shall be force thrown into a wall.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! If you are confused as to why this is chapter three instead of four, I combined three and two. I thought they made better sense together. I fully admit to the fact that I am terrible at updating. Things happen, fanfiction slips from my mind, and suddenly it's been months since I've written anything. :/ Despite the wait, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars rebels whatsoever.**

 _You have something only dead men have_

The windstorms on Lothal were infamous.

The endless golden plains had little in the way of resisting the gales of the oceans. The seas brought life and commerce, but they also brought powerful air currents. Children tell stories about these winds, about the animal gods and spirits who watch over this land. They say that the howling of the lothwolf spirits are what bring such devastation. They say that when the snake goddess sees the winds she sometimes joins in. She goes round and round in circles, around these howls, until all that remains is a ravaging cyclone.

Ezra struggled against the powerful winds of Lothal. The grass whipped around his legs and made his eyes water and burn. Every scream for help he made (the Lady, the Man, the Boy he could _see them._ They were standing there, the gust rippling through their robes. They watched with apathetic eyes.) was stolen and added to the endless howls of the lothwolves. He couldn't remember how he got here, or why he still stood when everything flew right by. Ezra thought he could hear whispers of voices he thought he had forgotten.

( _you'll be safer-)_

 _(Stay here, don't look back, we love you)_

 _(What a good boy you are!)_

 _(Don't talk about your gift love, it's not safe)_

And of voices that he had never heard, but tugged at his heart regardless.

 _(What happened? The empire did)_

 _(Nice shot lothrat)_

 _(There is no try-)_

The boy's muscles ached from the effort of staying up, and his throat was so _dry._ Just as he was about to fall a red flash split the dream.

Ezra woke up gasping. His eyes fluttered around the small, dark cabin, looking for any signs of danger. When he determined that he was safe, Ezra closed his eyes and regained his breath. He ran a hand through his dark curls and tried to ignore the pit in his stomach. His latest talk with Bossk hadn't ended well.

 _You have something only dead men have._

The thought scared Ezra.

He had been threatened with death before. Not just in the job with Bossk but on the streets too. Winter cold and summer illness was no joke on Lothal, and that was without the violent winds of the plains.

But in those times there was something he could do, that or he was was in danger because he _chose_ to be be. Ezra was proud but he wouldn't deny that he was more reckless then a bounty hunter should be.

This was something new, this was something he had _no_ decision in. Apparently the last person to know about this power was him. Bossk didn't have many tells or ticks, but after traveling with him so long Ezra could see that the hunter had known the truth. Boba Fett and those imperial agents seemed to after him because of that power.

Ezra pulled on his outfit and scrambled to the cockpit door. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for another talk with Bossk. He needed to know what this power was, why Bossk had never told him about it before. The trandosan didn't give up information easily, not even to his own apprentice. This wasn't going to be an easy battle.

Ezra walked into the cockpit and sat in the copilots chair, arms crossed. There was no greeting or smile. They both knew how serious this talk was going to be. The silence was heavy between them.

"You said that a bounty hunter should know every card they have, in any situation." Ezra said. He tried to phrase his words carefully. "I don't know all of my cards."

It was a long time before Bossk spoke.

"Ever heard of a Jedi, kid?"

"N-not much." Ezra stuttered. He expected a lot of different answers, or none at all. Certainly not this. "What about them?"

"The jedi were the most annoying do gooders in the galaxy." Bossk said. His face was twisted, as if he smelled bad Bantha milk. "Always up in my tail. They didn't like our kind."

"No one likes our kind." Ezra interrupted. Bossk raised an eye, but he couldn't keep his face straight and chuckled a little.

"You're right about that." Bossk said. He looked back to the window, his smile fading. "The jedi had something special, they were different then everyone else." The trandosan snorted. "Gave them a sense of superiority too. They could lift objects, twist minds, do things no normal being could do."

Ezra felt dread coil in his stomach. Should anyone be able to do that? His parents told him about the amazing powers jedi had, but they didn't say anything about twisting minds. The memory of his parents kind voices twisted his stomach even further. He knew what Bossk was going to say next.

"The empire killed most of them. A few are rumored to be here and there, but I doubt any are true. Those clones didn't miss many shots." A minute passed in an odd solemnity. Ezra knew Bossk wasn't grieving for the jedi, so what was he waiting for?

"Those that are left aren't jedi anymore. The empire hunted them down," The boy didn't like where this was going. "Made them all...theirs somehow. I can't explain what they do kid, if you ever see it-"

"You're not turning me in?"

Bossk looked surprised and turned to look at Ezra. "You think I would just throw you at them after that display back there Shorty?"

Now it was Ezra's turn to be surprised. Bossk was practical enough to see that having Ezra around was a risk, yet he was still hanging on to him? The boy felt warmth bloom in his chest. He admired his boss before, but it increased trifold. "No."

Bossk appeared to be a little uncomfortable with such an open display of affection from Ezra. After a minute the trandosan said "There's rumors of a rebel cell on Lothal you know." Bossk's claw-like fingers twitched. "There's even a fellow that claims he saw a light saber with the leader once."

"Do you think he could be a jedi?" Ezra asked, intrigued. A Jedi on Lothal seemed unthinkable to him. A Jedi would have helped him on the streets, a Jedi would have done something about the empire.

"Maybe."

The night passed in a rare silence. No jests, no more words passed between them. Sometimes before bed Bossk told him a story about the clone wars, or about his solo bounty hunter days. Tonight didn't hold a story.

Lothal hadn't changed much in the past two years.

"Mind staying here for a second kid? This contact of mine is doesn't like teenagers. Thinks they're too unstable for bounty hunter work."

"There are _plenty_ of grown bounty hunters to prove him wrong. Remember that one giant hat man?"

"Cad may be senile, but that doesn't mean you're coming with me."

"Fine, but why here Bossk? Why Lothal of all places?"

"Kriff, I don't know Shorty. Go steal a meiloorun or something!"

"Ok, OK. Good luck with the contact."

"...Yeah, good luck."

Bossk didn't come back.

Ezra waited in the street corner for hours. He broke and checked the spaceport when he say the twin moons come up.

The Hound's Tooth wasn't there.

It felt as if a blaster bolt went through Ezra's heart. Bossk cared, he knew that. Bossk wouldn'the, he wouldn't- _But he would. He can't hunt when he's being hunted himself._ The logic came and was violently pushed aside by the whirlwind of emotions hitting the boy like a speeder crash. He couldn't breathe, he ran hand through his hair and checked his equipment in his head. He knew it was only a distraction from the truth, but as he marched through the empty streets he made the list.

Blaster? Yes. Light armor? Yes, but Ezra wished to the Lothwolves he had his heavy set. Rations? Yes, in his pack. (Old habits die hard.) Credits? Only around 50 because he expected to go back h- _Bantha crap, what am I going to do?_

 _I am such an idiot._ All he could do was stay. He couldn't fly, or call Bossk ( _At least his parents didn't have a choice, but Bossk-)_ , or do _anything_ really. This simple fact infuriated Ezra. Actually everything was infuriating the young bounty hunter. The chill in the night air, the sight of well fed children in their home windows. Worst of all the stormtrooper trotting about as if they were owned the planet.

The moons shouldn't have been shining, the howling wolves shouldn't have been this loud. Ezra stormed back and forth in an alley for the hundredth time. He couldn't stop shaking, and he felt tears coming, but he forced them back.

Street kids don't cry. Neither did bounty hunters.

His body finally had enough of the constant pacing and tension that had been coursing though him for hours. Ezra collapsed on to an alley wall and sunk to the ground. He needed to formulate a plan tomorrow. The bounty hunters would come for him. They would figure out that he had been dumped here. _Maybe Bossk will tell them._ Ezra thought, spite curving his mouth.

He needed a ship, credits to buy that ship, and a way to keep getting credits once he was off this wretched planet.

But for the foreseeable future he was stuck here. Stuck on that planet nearly killed him several times. Lothal, the place of his ancestors.

Lothal, the place where he'd probably die.

 **If you have advice or a question, please tell me! I hope you liked it. I wouldn't mind a review at all. ;).**


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